Belief
by The Cactus
Summary: Hao pulls Yoh aside and tells him about the mysterious source of his enormous power...


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shaman King.

**A/N: **Please try to stomach the weirdness…

xxx

Hao appeared in front of Yoh, who was currently feeling stupid and _very_ lost as he traversed the weird landscape that made up the dimension through the Gate of Babylon.

Yoh knew that it was supposed to be a prison of some sort, but beyond that he knew nothing about the Gate. He had thought that since his friends were pulled in with him before, they would be able to find a way out together, but unfortunately once he regained his bearings, he realised that their group was completely broken up. He was trying to figure out what to do next when he raised he head and found the smiling face of Hao right in front of his own.

Yoh began smiled too. "Hello, Hao. Do you know how to get out of here?"

Hao continued smiling. _I guess that's what I like about him… _"Well, I do know a way out, Yoh. However, before I break us all out, I have a few things to do regarding my purpose and yours." Seeing Yoh begin to open his mouth, Hao lifted up a hand and waved his finger in front of Yoh. "Nope. Try not to have speak until I'm done or I ask you a question." Seeing Yoh's mouth snap shut, Hao smiled again.

"Good. First, I'll start with a question. Do you believe in God?"

"Should I?' came the puzzled reply.

Hao slapped his hand to his forehead. "Hmm, never mind. Anyway, if you don't, then you'll had better start believing." Remembering Hao asking him to be silent, Yoh bit down the "why".

"The reason is because God _does _exist, but he's gone for vacation somewhere. He'll return, but not anytime soon. However, he created a failsafe in humans so that in the event that he has to go somewhere, humans will eventually be able to become a race of God-like beings. In humans, we have belief. Or faith. Whatever. Any, once a human has 100 in something, anything can be done. For example, if I completely and utterly believe I can fly, then I can fly. If I believe I'm the strongest shaman ever, then I'll be the strongest shaman ever."

Hao waved a hand over himself. "And if I believe that I can't die, then I _can't _die." For a moment, He studied Yoh, who seemed to be taking this rather well. "if you want to know how I know this, that's because I'm the human formed from whatever was left when God left. I'm still human, but I have all knowledge from the beginning of time up to when God left. So basically, I know everything about and how the universe works. That's how I knew of this belief system."

Yoh decided to speak at this point. "If I'm your twin, does this mean that I'm half of a God-like being?"

"Nope. You, Asakura Yoh, were originally to be born alone. I merely hopped onto the nearest birth I could catch, and took on your appearance for the ride. I'm Asakura Hao, yes, but you are not, as I had claimed earlier, a part of me. This also means that the Asakura family's thoughts of you containing half of my power was wrong, and you will never be able to match me in power, until you become an enlightened being such as myself. Fortunately, I'm here to teach you how to do that."

"Why?'

Hao smiled again. "And that brings me back to the beginning of my speech. That's my purpose, you see. I was created to do this. God meant for whatever was left to form into a human who would enlighten the people around him. He was to teach people of the power of belief. And so I am here."

Yoh nodded his head. He was taking such a revelation… surprisingly well. Any person who was less of an airhead would probably have collapsed and died of insanity by that point.

"Ok. So, to become an enlightened being, you simply have to believe that you're and enlightened being."

Yoh's face had an _ARE YOU KIDDING_ expression on his face.

Hao smirked. _If you think it's that easy, then try it! Try believing 100 that you can do this. _Hao sent the message straight into Yoh's mind. _Remember to believe in it! If you believe that you can, then you **can.**_

Yoh stared straight forward, still as a statue. Hao could only assume that he was trying to send something, but because he wasn't getting any reception he couldn't really be sure. After waiting for another few minutes, Hao gave up and snapped his fingers in front of Yoh, breaking him out of his nap/trance/snooze.

"Well, as you can see, it isn't easy for this kind of belief to happen. The reason few people before my creation had manifested this kind of powers before is precisely because it's really quite impossible for normal people. No matter what, most people will still have the faintest of doubt hidden somewhere deep within their subconscious. But now I'll reveal my second purpose. I am also here to grant to people I think worthy the power to _believe."_

"Yep. Despite your overwhelming foolishness at times, I think that you are an innately good person, somewhere who will look after the welfare of this world. But perhaps stupidity was a side effect of being exposed to my powers for too long…"

Yoh didn't really have much to say. However, he did realised that he was subtly being insulted, even if most of it _was_ rather true.

"Ok, so now all I have to do is…" Hao closed his eyes and appeared to be concentrating on something. "… Yep, it's done. You can now do practically anything you fancy, since I removed the part of you that creates doubt. However, I trust that you'll work with the power wisely. There's no limit, but I can still stop you if I want, because I do have more experience. You'll have to figure out the usage on your own, but treat it as if it were the _Force._"

Hao turned away from Yoh. "And now, I'll break us out of here." He smiled. "I would ask you to try out your powers, but you may still be a little disoriented from the meaning of what I've just said."

With that, Hao blew apart the dimension they were trapped in and opened a portal back to their world. He was about to step through when Yoh finally spoke again.

"Wait! Why are you doing this? What is this all about? Weren't you just some ancestor of mine who sought to become the shaman king? Would you give me God-like powers? Isn't that against your goal?"

Hao's smile was genuine, but it carried a hint of perhaps… bitterness. "That's part of my purpose too, but I won't explain this part of it to you. It's unnecessary."

_Goodbye. The next time we meet, It'll be under less friendly circumstances. _The Spirit of Fire appeared at the edge of the portal and in a flash of fire, Hao was gone, leaving Yoh to his own devices.

Yoh tried his power too.

_I… understand._


End file.
